5 Things You Didn't Know About Stuntmen

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You see their work whenever you go to the movies, but you never see them (if they're good at it). When the villain falls from a skyscraper to his death or the hero escapes a massive explosion, you may think you're looking at your favorite actor, but in reality, you're probably watching a stuntman.

Here are five cool things you didn't know about stuntmen.

1. Stuntmen have their own awards

Stuntmen are actors (in fact, from a business perspective, they are members of the Screen Actors Guild, so they receive the same benefits and pay as other actors). But unlike other actors, stuntmen aren't eligible for Academy Award recognition. To remedy this, stuntmen organizations have created a forum to honor excellence in the field.

The Taurus World Stunt Awards feature multiple categories, from best fight scene to best vehicle stunt. Stunt coordinators, who virtually co-direct elaborate stunt sequences, are also recognized.

2. Jackie Chan started off as a stuntman

Stuntmen often work closely with Hollywood stars, taking them through the ins and outs of complicated stunts. But some stars were once stuntmen themselves. Consider Jackie Chan. He started as an apprentice in the China Drama Academy at the age of 6, where he trained non-stop in music, dance and traditional martial arts. Needless to say, this physical background gave him the credentials to leap into feature films, doing stunts in Chinese martial arts movies. But his big break came when the film world looked high and low for the next Bruce Lee.

Clearly, the emphasis would not be on looks and acting alone — the next Bruce Lee would have to be a real stuntman, as martial arts fans wouldn't accept a second-rate substitute. Enter Chan, who combined comedy with realistic stunt work to become an international star.

3. Stuntmen are paid to get hurt

At its heart, Hollywood is a business. Stuntmen exist because the injury or death of a primary actor can end a production, whereas stuntmen can be replaced. Jackie Chan has noted that all of his stuntmen have gotten hurt, although he's quick to point out that safety precautions are more prominent in American films. Injuries, though frequent, are not well reported. This problem is of concern; in fact, part of the focus of the Taurus Awards is to raise money for injured stuntmen and their families. Deaths are not common, but they do happen. During the filming of the Bruce Willis film Tears of the Sun, stuntman, Michael Barber, was killed in a skydiving sequence.